Capitan Dokka Tkarro swallowed hard before entering the Cyclops Transport's main engineering bay. As a commander of troops, this duty was worse than even ordering troops into combat. He took his hat under his left arm and marched in in a slow steady beat. Jeet was next to the door and turn to ask him something, but the question died in his throat, seeing the look on Dokka's face. Narchi was complaining to Perro, the four eyed machine-life male,"I need to see her! I'm just worried..." Narchi turned his seat and looked at Capitan Tkarro. He saw the look on the Capitan's face and started trembling inside. He could only croak out his beloved's name,"Neblae?" "I regret to inform you of your wife, Ahrini, also known as Neblae's death at sixteen oh two hours, ship's time. The cause of death is apparently from the ancient artifact that Tall White Lady was using detonated while it was being used to heal Snowflake. "The Alien Emissary of the Kriff worlds, Kyryn also perished in the explosion. Tall White Lady is in extremely critical condition and is not expected to survive. In the only recording we have, Martya teleported to safety. Her present location is unknown. Snowflake is comatose, possibly in hibernation mode, and Malbess is aparently incapable of communication now. Snowflake and Malbess show evidence of transmutation due to exposure to the artifact. Apparently the artifact failed in mid-use. That's most of the information we have. I am so very sorry." Narchi had known something had happened. He had feared that Neblae was injured, but not dead! He sobbed and collapsed, weeping into his hands. He felt like broken glass was tearing his insides apart, and that the cold in his soul would tear him asunder. Jeet dropped his head as his cheeks got wet from his own tears. He had been so jealous of that Trow girl, he never had gotten to know her. Now he never would and that filled him with more sorrow than he could tell. She had made Narchi happy, and that HAD mattered to him. He turned and punched a bulk-head and then went off to nurse his broken hand. Perro walked over. He looked at Capitan Tkarro, and remarked in a marginally casual tone, "I AM dismayed to hear that the ancient artifacts of the pre-human progenitors were so second-hand in quality! May I see the recording you spoke of? I have enhanced image clarifying software that the Cyclops do NOT possess. They have one eye with phased array depth perception, where I possess quadnocular vision. Your description of events is too vague for me to accept as fact." Dokka nodded, "You're welcome to see it. Narchi--you shouldn't watch this. It's pretty graphic." Narchi looked up and breathed raggedly,"DON'T ASSUME. I'll watch it. I HAVE TO." Dokka patted him on the shoulder and punched it up on the engine room monitor. The recording was from Malbess's eyes. After they had begun, Kyryn moved at near supperspeed and yanked off the chain from Tall-White Lady's neck, tearing a huge gash in her throat. Kyryn stepped toward the bathroom followed by Neblae, as Martya simply rotated in place. Dokka slowed the recording down. The was a flash and in slow-motion they watched as the compression wave shredded Kyryn's flesh and bones to bits. Matya flashed and disappeared just before the wave hit her. The wave hit Neblae and they saw her flesh ripple like Kyryn's and a flash of red blood flew toward Malbess and the recording went blank. Perro interfaced with the computer as Narchi sank back limply into his seat. Perro ran it back to the last frame and did what enhancing he could on it. Finally he said, "Strange. I can see the door-jamb through Neblae's head. That red 'splash' is a reflection from the red jacket laying on the bed. It looks like she was going transparent--like water." Narchi bolted out of the seat like a surface-to-air missile and was out the door in an instant. --TO BE CONTINUED!!--